A blog dedicated to coverage of rock news, reviews of CD's/DVD's, live gigs and interviews with musicians who have made rock music great!
Coverage of hard rock, classic rock, AOR and popular melodic rock music across the genre.
This blog is the creation of Alun Williams, a Brit now living in Michigan whose previous credits include writing for the following sites:
www.classicrock.about.com
www.classicrockrevisited.com
and www.rocknrolluniverse.com (Now gone)
I hope you enjoy your visit here!

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Monday, April 19, 2010

Rock News Update for Monday 19th April, 2010

Icelandic Volcano disaster starting to effect bands tour schedules

It seems on top of the problems Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano has caused in the UK and other parts of Europe, with internal flights being halted for the past 5 days, but now the ash cloud is spreading much further into Europe, as well as Poland, Romania and Russia now, but some other countries are actually questioning the situation now?!

As has been highly publicized by the media, the volcanic eruption on Iceland is significantly affecting global air travel and may result in flight delays or cancellations. Fans intending to travel to forthcoming Asia shows are advised to check with local promoters/venues before setting out as some dates that require air travel are currently in question.

Any specifics that can be passed on will be made available via this site.

So there you have it folks, it's causing serious chaos which I'm sure some of you may well have been affected ... If you're trapped somewhere, I wish you luck in finding your way, wherever you need to get to.

I'd also recommend that if you know the band to plan to see tonight, tomorrow or an otherwise soon date, you should keep watching the bands / artists websites for updates. :)

Rush - Beyond the Lighted Stage Poster revealed

Rush, who have just announced major dates for this summer on their 'Time' tour, will also have a serious behind the scenes view of their life on the road, made available to Joe Public.

... and more Rush live dates!

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2010
DUE TO DEMAND -- SECOND SHOWS have been added in CHICAGO & DENVER!
In addition to the 2 new shows, the following dates on the RUSH TIME MACHINE TOUR now have ticket on-sale details!
Reserve the best seats in the house now through our various special fan pre-sale offers that start this Tuesday for a limited time before general on-sales begin.

If you happen to be a CITI or AMEX card member, please be aware there are also pre-sale opportunities via CITI for US shows* and AMEX Front of Line for the 2 Toronto shows.July 2010
July 01 Kansas City, MO Starlight Theatre On sale April 23
July 07 Chicago, IL Charter One Pavilion On sale April 24
July 13 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre On sale April 23**
July 17 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre On sale April 23**
July 21 Philadelphia, PA Susquehanna Bank Center On sale April 24 August 2010
August 11 Los Angeles, CA LA Forum On sale April 24
August 13 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater On sale April 24
August 18 Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre On sale April 24
August 22 St. Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater On sale April 24
August 25 Omaha, NE Qwest Center On sale April 23
August 29 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena On sale April 24
August 31 Allentown, PA Allentown Fair On sale April 24* September 2010
September 16 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center On sale April 26
September 26 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center On sale April 24
*does not include CITI pre-sale ** includes Amex Front of Line

Bret Micheals health update

This from the Poison frontman's website:

Due to the emergency surgery performed last Monday 12th April on Bret Michaels, he has had to cancel some shows which included Baton Rouge, Clinton, OK and Hidalgo, TX.

As well as those, the following shows have also been postponed for now:

April 21 at Sweet Carolines in Winchester, VA

April 23 at Neumeiers Rib Room in Ft. Smith, AR

April 24 at Belterra Resort and Casino in Florence, IN

Please note all tickets will be honored for the rescheduled show dates.

Keep checking back for information on rescheduling as well as any other possible postponed shows.

Bret remains under medical supervision at an undisclosed private care facility specializing in the rehabilitation of diabetic patients. While the surgery went well and Doctors are optimistic that the rocker will make a full recovery, the fact that he was exhausted due to his rigorous schedule prior to the surgery and coupled with the fact that he has diabetes, the surgery has taken its toll. Even for non diabetic patients the recovery from surgery can be long and painful. Doctors were amazed at how good of health Bret was in being a 47 year-old diabetic. However the main focus and concern right now is that he is able to rest, recover and maintain good blood sugar levels while doing so.

Thank you all for your well wishes. And, as always, thanks for your support! For those of you who have inquired about sending get well cards, flowers or gifts we ask that you instead call your local radio and request Bret's current single "Nothing to Lose."

LAUNCH OF NEW LABEL, LOVE & WAR RECORDS, TO FOCUS ON BOTH UP-AND-COMING AND ESTABLISHED METAL TALENT

It’s not very often that three long-time friends get a chance to launch a record label together, but that’s exactly what Phil Sadler, Charlie Bagarozza, and Steve Blaze have done, with the creation of Love & War Records. And with such a strong link to metal veteran act Lillian Axe (Blaze is the lead guitarist/founding member of the band, while Sadler promoted the group’s shows in the Midwest area), it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the label’s first-ever release will be the group’s tenth album overall, ‘Deep Red Shadows.’

The album - produced by Blaze and mastered by Ty Tabor of King’s X - promises to be another kick ass entry into the group’s catalog, and will be released on July 20, 2010.

Love & War Records will accept solicited and unsolicited materials from artists. Submissions should contain at least a 3 song demo CD, optional DVD of the band performing live, current band photo, current band bio and any info on live shows you have played. All submissions will become the property of Love & War Records.

The official titles for the three label founders will be “Owner and CEO” for Sadler, “President/Head of A&R/Talent Relations” for Bagarozza, and “Producer/A&R” for Blaze. "After having 6 label deals, including major and indie labels, it was time to become a part of a family that could learn from the errors and strengths of our past situations,” says Blaze. “We want to surround ourselves with a great team to guide our artists and great artists who care about the wonderful art of hard rock and metal music."For more information, visit:

Times are exciting for Stone Temple Pilots as their new single takes off and their website gets a facelift. The new site has a whole new photo gallery, up to the minute tour updates, a new audio player and much more. Many other updates will be rolling out within the next few weeks so stay tuned, and visit the site often for the latest.

The much-anticipated self-titled album from Stone Temple Pilots including the single 'Between the Lines' will be released May 25, 2010! Pre-order now and be one of the first to have it in your music collection.

ARE YOU READY FOR KISKE/SOMERVILLE?

KISKE/SOMERVILLE, the new project featuring former HELLOWEEN vocalist Michael Kiske and American singer Amanda Somerville, filmed two videos — "Silence" and "If I Had A Wish" — on March 28 and March 29 in Nurnberg, Germany. Joining Kiske and Somerville for the shoot were bassist and main composer Mat Sinner(SINNER, PRIMAL FEAR), guitarist Sander Gommans (AFTER FOREVER, HDK), drummer Rami Ali and keyboardist Jimmy Kresic (VOODOO CIRCLE).

The clips were directed by Martin Mueller of RCN TV who previously helmed U.D.O.'s"Black and White" and "Mean Streets" and GOTTHARD's"The Call" videos.

The KISKE/SOMERVILLE debut album is scheduled for release in September. A digital single, "Silence", will be launched in late august before the release of the full album.

Commented Mat Sinner: "The first video clip is for ther song and first single of the album, 'Silence', and was shot at the Opera House. The second video clip was shot for the song 'If I Had A Wish' in an old and closed public bath. Hard job for all of us, but we had a fantastic time!"

The songs that will end up on the album (not final sequence; composers for each track listed in parenthesis) are:

01. Nothing Left To Say (Mat Sinner & Magnus Karlsson)

02. Silence (Mat Sinner & Magnus Karlsson)

03. If I Had A Wish (Mat Sinner & Magnus Karlsson)

04. One Night Burning (Mat Sinner & Magnus Karlsson)

05. Arise (Sander Gommans & Amanda Somerville)

06. End Of The Road (Mat Sinner & Jimmy Kresic)

07. Don't Walk Away (Mat Sinner & Magnus Karlsson)

08. Devil In Her Heart (Mat Sinner & Jimmy Kresic)

09. Rain (Mat Sinner & Magnus Karlsson)

10. A Thousand Suns (Sander Gommans & Amanda Somerville)

11. Second Chance (Mat Sinner & Magnus Karlsson)

Bonus Track:

12. Set A Fire (Sander Gommans & Amanda Somerville)

Somerville is the American singer-songwriter and vocal coach who was tapped to replace EPICA vocalist Simone Simons on the band's North American tour with SYMPHONY X due to Simons' health issues. Amanda was also featured on KAMELOT's latest release, "Ghost Opera", and toured with AVANTASIA. She released her solo album, "Windows", in 2008.

A Michigan native, Amanda has resided and worked mainly in Germany and the Netherlands since 1999. She has collaborated with several other bands in the metal scene along with producers Sascha Paeth and Miro, and co-wrote the rock opera "Aina". Her own music is of the pop-rock genre.